Judo Question

I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep my head up, and not hunched over looking to shoot for a leg while clinching in judo.

Any suggestions, and possibly any thoughts on what I can do better my base while standing.

I have a spar pro at home I'm gonna put a gi on and practice one throw on till I get it right.

First throw, O Soto Gari. :)

Everyone's first throw.

Originally Posted by Sifu Rudy Abel

"Just what makes a pure grappler think he can survive with an experienced striker. Especially if that striker isn't following any particular rule set and is well aware of what the grapplers strategies are".

Well, when I was training in Judo before I stopped I liked playing like a Russian.

Take the leg grips, if you like it down there then you'd better starting fighting it. Ankle and thigh grips are nice and low for the scarifice throws. Possible belt and ankle for kata garuma(firemans carry throw)!

Well... when I'm working with the kids in the kids judo class and they start to bend forward, I tell them to immediately shoot for some kind of leg sweep. Osoto, ouchi, kouchi, kosoto, sasae, etc. This usually causes them to posture up. If they continually get leg swept, I tell them to got for ankle picks, etc. This causes them to move their butts out.

I guess some better advice might be to focus on the following three things:

1) Grip fighting, don't let them get two hands on you;
2) Off balancing, pull you opponent in one of the eight directions; and
3) Work your foot sweeps to set up other moves.

You'll have a hard time bending over if you concentrate on 2 and 3.

This advice is if you're definitely trying to fight japanese style, which is good for ectomorphs and endomorphs as I've noticed. The europeans fight in a modified freestyle stance, which seems to be a lot more effective for mesomorphs. And the europeans field some tough guys. So each has it's pros and cons.

Also, a very simple trick to avoid bending down is to get with a wrestler and practice pummelling, which involves swimming the arms through various standing overhook/underhook combinations while maintaining chest to chest contact.

When you're pushing, focus on pushing with your lower stomach area (I guess it'd actually be dan tien area, for the chinese martial artists out there). Don't push with your arms. Other than that, just do it. If you don't have mats, get together with a couple friends and practice grip fighting and have a third person tell you every time you start bending over.

That said, you CAN bend over and do well, but your teacher may not know how to coach that style well, so it'd be better to stand up straight.

And that's when I figured out that tears couldn't make somebody who was dead alive again. There's another thing to learn about tears, they can't make somebody who doesn't love you any more love you again. It's the same with prayers. I wonder how much of their lives people waste crying and praying to God. If you ask me, the devil makes more sense than God does. I can at least see why people would want him around. It's good to have somebody to blame for the bad stuff they do. Maybe God's there because people get scared of all the bad stuff they do. They figure that God and the Devil are always playing this game of tug-of-war game with them. And they never know which side they're gonna wind up on. I guess that tug-of-war idea explains how sometimes, even when people try to do something good, it still turns out bad.

Re: Judo Question

Originally posted by Anthony I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep my head up, and not hunched over looking to shoot for a leg while clinching in judo.

Generally, your "hunched over" feeling is in anticipation of the shoot. This in effect is a telegraph, so you need to get rid of it.

Also, as you do this (lean forward/hunch), your center of gravity is raised up, and toward the back (your ass sticks out, and your weight is on your toes).

**
Work on your footwork. Your hip possition and your balance are the most important areas for you to solidify, before working techniques to get to the target.

Think of lunges. Think of squats. Think of lowering your body vertically, without bending at the waist.

When you've got these basic movements ingrained into your body, work on quicker movements, possibly with both feet, in multiple directions
(to train some explosiveness into your initial motion for any shoot).

**
Keeping your head up while shooting is more a matter of proper body positioning and centering. When done correctly, it hardly feels like you did anything at all. Shooting will become effortless, second-nature, non-telegraphed, and fun!

I'm glad for all the judo guys on this forumn for being so verbose, or I wouldn't have joined back up again.

Once I feel comfortable in a month or so with Judo, then I'll be back again with BJJ. I can't wait for the look of surprise on some of their faces. LOL.

Judo 3 times a week, Jits twice. Can't wait.

Originally Posted by Sifu Rudy Abel

"Just what makes a pure grappler think he can survive with an experienced striker. Especially if that striker isn't following any particular rule set and is well aware of what the grapplers strategies are".

Since both Judo and BJJ have roots in Ju Jitsu, I can see and feel it. I'm excited to bring both branches together. :)

Originally Posted by Sifu Rudy Abel

"Just what makes a pure grappler think he can survive with an experienced striker. Especially if that striker isn't following any particular rule set and is well aware of what the grapplers strategies are".